Retailers are gaining ground in the mobile arena by implementing Mobile Point of Sale (MPOS) and Mobile Optimized Commerce Sites (MCS). When integrated with analytics, MPOS enables sales associates to offer product recommendations and review customers’ shopping history, while shortening line queues. The MCS provides a mobile self-service experience for shoppers in-store via a uniquely designed site.

Companies that don’t take sales and use tax seriously are opening themselves up for potentially huge unexpected costs down the road. States and other local authorities have recently committed greater attention to sales taxes as a means to increase overall revenue. To be prepared for an audit and maintain an effective sales tax scenario, organizations are wise to implement sales tax management tools.

With shoppers continuing to spend more time starting their research on the web, the search portion of the shopping process is emerging as the new “moment of truth” for retailers. And just as it is essential to have the right products and information available when that customer is in the physical store aisle, progressive online retailers are learning that links to inaccurate product descriptions or photos can cause a negative experience and ultimately, abandoned shopping carts.

Unauthorized software use is a growing problem for today’s food service and retail organizations. By downloading music and other software applications, employees are potentially compromising company systems. Security solutions can protect computer systems from data leakage and targeted attacks. Bertucci’s Restaurants recently implemented the Bit9 Parity application to secure more than 250 point of sale machines, corporate laptops and PCs at more than 90 restaurants.

Facing higher inventories and stuffed stock rooms, retailers are challenged with unique auditing issues during the holiday season. Effective auditing solutions can help streamline operations and minimize losses during the long 60-day season. 

Using 4 key auditing tactics, merchants will be fully prepared to face the holiday onslaught: 

1. Store opening checklist
2. Black Friday preparation
3. Backroom checkup
4. Planning store shut-down 

In the new “era of consumer engagement,” retailers must employ up-to-date technologies and solutions in order to meet consumer demand. At the heart of this focus is the POS ― the hub of store activity. To establish the best POS strategy, retailers can follow 8 best practices related to: the Broadband Era, the Cloud, Hardware choices, Enhancing customer engagement, Pricing solutions, Mobility, Cross-Channel Commerce, and Security concerns.

Transactional emails are an untapped revenue opportunity for many retail organizations. In a recent MarketingSherpa survey, 75% of respondents said they opened and read transactional messages “frequently” or “very often/always.” To take advantage of the benefits of transactional messaging, retailers should create a go-forward strategy that includes the company’s key business goals. Transactional emails that work include features such as product recommendations, header link navigation and customized content.

Retailers are deemed “credible” by 64% of shoppers when they receive a high level of customer service across channels, according to respondents in a recent survey. This statistic and other key findings help to shed light on changing shopper preferences, in the 2011 Shopper Preferences Study sponsored by Junction Solutions and conducted by Retail TouchPoints. To be successful in today’s cross-channel retail environment, retailers must create a seamless shopping experience based on consumer demand.

To combat increasing network congestion and manage operations in the cloud, retailers must control application flow and prioritize key applications such as email and social media. French retail giant Leroy Martin has learned that WAN Governance is a key asset for retailers looking to deliver critical applications consistently, even during peak network traffic. By optimizing critical business applications, Leroy Merlin has improved customer service. Additionally, WAN Governance can reduce the amount of time and number of resources used to troubleshoot ongoing network problems.

U.S. e-Commerce sales are expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 10% through 2014 and will reach nearly $250 billion, according to Forrester Research. But as many as 20% of consumers are unable to access websites because of non-compliance and other inaccessibility issues. To meet federal regulations and eventually tap into a new set of online consumers, retailers must become better educated about these issues.

Audits are an essential aspect of loss prevention in retail environments. Used to verify compliance, to understand operations, and to identify risks, audits have long been a part of the retail landscape. Yet, due to the massive amount of information audits acquire, it’s sometimes difficult for retailers to take immediate follow-up action.

Many direct marketers have grown accustomed to using software to maximize the value of customer and prospect data. But they often are faced with the challenge of finding the correct solution that quantifies the impact on company metrics. Complete the form below to download the white paper titled Explode Six Direct Marketing Myths and learn how to maximize campaign effectiveness with analytic technology.